Ryanair has just taken delivery of what might be one of the world’s least comfortable jets…
Continue reading: Ouch: Ryanair’s New 197-Seat Boeing 737 MAX 8-200
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
The deliveries in the summer will not go to Air Malta (KM), which is the national carrier of Malta, but to Malta Air (AL), which is the Maltese Ryanair/Gov't of Malta joint venture.
The recipient is Malta Air, and not Air Malta. The former is a JV between Ryan Air and the Maltese Govt. while the latter is the flagship carrier for Malta.
I couldn't even fly this configuration if I wanted to. My legs are up against the seatback at 30". Jeez.
At least they added new exits. Too many times airlines cram in new people with tighter seats while claiming there is zero impact on safety because 30 years ago they did an evac test in a pool
Legroom is a function of both seat pitch and seatback thickness. If the seatback is as thin as cardboard, a 28” seat pitch and provide as much legroom as 31” seat pitch with a 3” thick seatback.
The most cramped economy seat I have ever been in was on a BA A380. That seatback must have been 5 inches thick, if not more.
They simply took those plastic seats you see on buses and rapid transit. It has been like riding a bus for years now.. they just made the experience more so.
They have more seats at the expense of the galleys and nothing else. You should do your homework.
The max like the DC10 will become one of the safest aircraft to fly. The DC10 had the cargo hatch problem and the press like now made the worst of everything but never come back and say they were wrong.
The extra doors are available on the 737-900ER but deactivated by most US airlines because they don't need them. Boeing just offered them on the MAX 8 in order to increase the capacity that the MAX 8 can carry.
Historically, LCCs often offered slightly better seat pitch by virtue of having one class only. Given the hard limit on the number of seats, 189 evenly spaced seats on a 737-800 would naturally come to about 30" pitch.
Ironically this is worse on aircraft with extra-legroom seats up front, since the extra space there needs to be compensated in economy. My most uncomfortable flight to-date was on an Iberia Express A320 with 28" pitch, whereas LCCs like Wizz Air, Easyjet or Volotea were all pretty comfortable by comparison.
So sit in the back of the plane if you want a better chance getting off the plane quicker in an emergency
An extra row of extra leg rooms seats is always welcome, they're usually reasonably priced.
The galley looks too narrow to fit those food/beverage carts, and also many carry on bags to roll I think.
I just need to reiterate how bad your redesign is. I'm running a 24" monitor at 1920 x 1080 resolution, and when I load the blog page I don't see any content -- just a photo of an airplane ceiling, a ton of banner ads, and a huge blue box that says "Blog." I have no idea what machines you were designing and testing on but to real-life users this is not good.
Several 737 series of a/c have always had that plug style door aft of the window exits, most airlines just don't use them. It's nothing "new"...do your homework...
Is there a seat map to check on the ‘slimmed’ galleys?
My God have mercy on their souls (& Butts) 😉
I have found the slim Recaro seats on some Alaska Airlines flights to be very comfortable, much easier on my back than previous seats that were thicker.
Ryanair, comfortable, and galley are words that don't seem to make much sense in a single sentence. FR is great for its point-to-point low cost, not for its flight experience value.
"The planes are so dense that they need extra emergency exits due to the number of seats." Says it all.
That’s not true. To have this high pax count, they have to add another pair of exits between the overwing and the aft most exits. There are FAA and EASA rules on egress. There have to be enough space for proper evacuation. It’s a lot more than taking out the galleys. Don’t insult people. You don’t know what you are talking about.
Re "As you can see below, there are four sets of emergency exits":
I can see FIVE sets of emergency exits!
I see 5 exits 1) forward 2) 2x overwing 3) mid 4) aft? Lot of exits.
Doesn't sound conformable but with the price you pay still a good deal. I like how the malta air plane looks.
Ryanair - The Airline of Last Resort!
Make sure you pay with a credit card so you have a chance of getting your money back if there are any issues with your flights!
The way the 737 Max crash another pair of emergency exits won't make a difference.
With 6.7 I technically do not fit the seat, since my leg in horizontal dimension measures 27 inch.
But due to the new exit, it could become an alternative to the A321 where the legroom at the exit as especially huge, much better compared to over-the-wing exit.
Nailed it. Iberia Express A320 by far the tightest, most uncomfortable flight I’ve ever taken. Made Ryanair seem like Comfort+
True that both are factors. However, there is no way to "gain" additional space with thinner seats, you just loose less space.
My upper thigh measures 29.8 inches, which definitely more than 28, i.e. regardless how thin the seat back is, I won't fit.
I love the typo in the quote from the Ryanair CEO... "GAMchanger" indeed.
Once you've flown on the MAX 8 200, your legs, or 'gams' will never be the same! OUCH!
The max has inherent design flaws - made by trying to cram enormous turbofan engines on a 60+ year old airframe design that was never intended to have the engines in this position/configuration. The result is that without significant computer input, the airplane is unflyable. Airlines taking delivery of this flying disaster in waiting will live to regret it, exponentially more than they already do. This “airplane” is Boeing’s commercial swan song.
It seems counterintuitive that a ULCC seat would have more legroom but I've experienced this too. I had booked a flight on Allegiant because they were the only airline that served my destination. Being 6'4, I was dreading the 2 1/2 hours crammed in like a sardine but to my surprise, the legroom was adequate, the seats were leather and had a good amount of cushioning. I enjoyed the flight. Admittedly this was several years ago on an MD-80 so I can't speak to their current offering.
In reference to the Boeing 800 MAX, Ralph Nader said you can't correct a hardware problem with software.
This aircraft has a major design flaw - it's not balanced because Boeing rushed its production to keep up with Airbus.
I wouldn't fly this aircraft if you paid me. There will be more tragic accidents and the next one(s) will seal Boeing's fate.
The plane is rebranded from "737 MAX" to "737-8200 Gamechanger".
In terms of safety, these ones have updated software, so what problem could there possible be?
8 this year going to Buzz - the Ryanair subsidiary in Poland: https://warszawa.naszemiasto.pl/warszawa-pierwszy-boeing-737-8200-gamechanger-w-barwach/ar/c1-8446907
Lauda Europe is another brand that is actually Ryanair.
You are really just humiliating Ryanair even more for something that is actually very positive for Ryanair.
Apparently you haven’t read all the details of why MCAS was implemented; it was originally only meant to prevent aerodynamic stalls in rare pitch-up situations (which still would have been recoverable without it), but was later modified to provide additional flight handling enhancements because the center of gravity was making the plane fly rougher than the 737NG. MCAS was *not* added to make the plane flyable, which is why it can now be easily turned off. I’m not at all excusing Boeing’s criminal behavior in concealing MCAS and completely failing at its original implementation (which caused horrible tragedies), but it’s incorrect to say that simply hanging larger engines on an older airframe makes the plane dangerous.
Definitely not the worlds least comfortable jet! I’ve flown on their 8200 three four times. The pressurisation is 10x better than their 10 yr old 800’s. The new seats are more comfortable than easyJet’s slimline seats, with a less bulky armrest and what seems to be marginally more leg room. The storage is excellent and the cabin is bright and airy. Quiet, lots of power. Totally suitable for 1-4 hr flights. Very little wait time for the WC, even on dense flights.
Scaremongering…
Oh get a grip. If you don’t like them, shimmy off to BA and pay £117. They’ll give you your desired cup of tea, packet of crisps and the 35 minute delay in pushback - that comes as standard. I’m sure you can forgo the £17 your Ryanair ticket cost you.
Just flew fro London Stansted to Ireland West knock on the new 737 8200. It's quieter with more keg room and comfortable thinner seats. Didn't know how to lift the aisle armrest, the 800 model had a little button underneath that you push to raise the rest, the new max dosen't have this button and crew didn't know how to either. Won't help in an emergency will it. If anyone knows email me at [email protected]
Flew on one yesterday Manchester to Dublin. Very cramped and uncomfortable. Didn't realise it was one of the controversial Max as Ryanair call it a 737 8200. Avoid it if you can.
Went to dublin on the new plane I'm 6ft6 and could just square in the old seats the hostes had to ask another pasenger to move to an end seat and stick my legs ot the side as I couldn't physically fit in the space this cant be safe for passengers health and and seats now helping to block the emergency exits god help the passengers in a fire
I flew Edinburgh to Dublin return this week sitting in row 18 (extra leg room) out and row 8 back. I am 6’2” and leg room ok in Row 8 and of course in row 18. More than previous Ryanair flights. Loading up is a pain taking too long as priority with bags probably oversold and unusually for Ryanair, no check on bag size, many folk had 2 big bags so overhead lockers filled up well before all passengers on board. Short flight so no need to use the bathroom and actuality pretty pleased with the flight.
Flew the max 8200 for the first time this week. Found seats much better than Ryan -800. Food was much better too. Plane felt less crowded than the 800 too. If it were not for 2 things (RyanAir + inherent flawed design) I migjt even choose to fly so long as there was no A320 available...
Was on a max to day / bumpy straight away on take off ,and through hole of take off and in flight and was the worse landing every on a plane ✈️. Would make me think about flying Ryan air again regardless of cost .
Just flown on a ryanair max 8200 the most uncomfortable flight ever. seats have very thin backs with minimal padding. Cheap plastic seats will only fly ryanair again if absolute last resort
Just had 2 flights from east mids to malaga and back on the 737 8200 with ryanair didnt realise it was a MAX at first as no mention or text saying max anywhere for obvious reasons the flight staff just said 737 8200.
i was pleasantly surprised great interior more leg room much comfier than any 737 i have travelled on a fantastic flight very powerful engines .
we had a passenger disembark before take of must have been the maxfactor that scared them but i think boeing have got it right at last .
wouldn't hesitate to fly on one again .
I flew one of these back from alicante
I was so worried when I realised it was 737 max I wanted to get off and book another airline. I think this plane is so cheaply made and had so many problems ryan air should cancel its order and buy airbus planes. These planes do not instil confidence in ryan air and I will try to avoid flying ryan air as much as possible because of this.
R18 Extra Legroom - Not Always
Has anyone had issues with booking and paying for extra legroom in R18 on a Max 8 and then having the plane swapped for a 737 800 where R18 is a standard pitch seat. I'm sure this happens quite often , happened to me twice. Ryanair refuse to refund the extra payment they took for the seat. I have taken them to court through small claims in the UK
Ryanair’s seat backs on its 737-800s are at least 3 inches thick, pretty much 1980s technology. (I suspect they were bought at a bargain price, of course.) The seats on their new max’s are about one inch thick if that much, and just as comfortable.
If you go from the industry’s thickest seats to thinnest seats, it should be a problem to reduce pitch by 2 inches and still increase legroom. The question should be why they don’t replace seats on their old airplanes.